Archive for November 11th, 2018

Three seemingly disparate events are associated together on this date:

1. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month the armistice was signed ending World War I and today is the 100th year after the end of the most brutal and bloody war in history at that time, and this date became Veteran’s Day. We remember all military, soldiers and sailors, who have defended our nation in war. We thank them for their service and the best way to do that is: THANK A VETERAN TODAY and exhort our government to give good service in the VA who have given good service for us!

2. On this date, Martin of Tours, Pastor and Bishop was buried in the city of Tours, France:

Born into a pagan family in what is now Hungary around the year A.D. 316, Martin grew up in Lombardy (Italy).

When he was fifteen, being the son of a soldier, he was drafted to serve in the army. He was apparently a good soldier and popular with his comrades. One winter night when he was stationed in Amiens, Martin saw a poor old beggar at the city gate shivering in the cold, and, having nothing else to give him, he drew his sword, cut his own cavalryman’s cloak in two, and gave half to the man to wrap himself in. The next night Martin dreamed of Christ in heaven wearing his half-cloak and saying, “Martin, still a catechumen, has covered me with his cloak.” The young soldier, however, found it increasingly difficult to combine his own ideal of a Christian life with the duties of the military. Eventually he decided to be baptized and asked to leave the army, since he was no longer willing to kill. Like his modern counterparts, this fourth century “conscientious objector” had difficulty proving he was not a coward, but finally he was released, now about twenty years old.

Sensing a call to a church vocation, Martin left the military and became a monk, affirming that he was “Christ’s soldier.” Eventually, Martin was named bishop of Tours in western Gaul (France). He is remembered for his simple lifestyle and his determination to share the Gospel throughout rural Gaul. (From Treasury of Daily Prayer, CPH)

3. On November 10th, 1483, Eisleben, Germany, to a miner and his wife a son was born. Baptisms were done quickly due to infant mortality. The next day Hans and Margarette brought their son for Baptism on St. Martin’s Day. So they named him Martin, as was the custom, after the saint’s day he was baptized. The son baptized today was Martin Luther.

What do these 3 commemorations have in common?

They are all about being a soldier, faithful, true and bold.

2 Timothy 2: You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

This day is about soldiers, airmen and sailors in our armed forces defending our nation, yes, but primarily defending the nation’s charter of freedom, words on paper, the Constitution of the United States of America, as the oath of a soldier or sailor clearly states:

I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

In this fallen world, it is true,and yet sad to say, that war can be for peace. Those who died in the Ypres, Verdun and countless other fields and trenches in France and Belgium, did so not because of the love of war, but of peace.

This day is about a soldier, Martin of Tours left one army and joining the militia Christi, the army of Christ for the salvation of souls. Christ enlisted him as He enlists us in Baptism. As bishop in the army of Christ he did battle against the heresies of his day and served his people the green and eternal pasture of the Word of God. He fought against the powers and principalities, sin, death and the power of the devil, for the peace which the Lord gives, not the world.

This day is about the baptized in the army of Christ and the man named after Martin of Tours, Martin Luther. Martin Luther was likewise a soldier in Christ. Martin and Martin bore the weapons of the Spirit to defend the charter of our eternal salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth. They both did so without jihad, killing others and wreaking destruction. Martin and Martin did their duty, lived their callings in the peace of Christ, defending Words on the pages of Holy Scripture, and that very Word defends us.

As the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy that he was enlisted by the Lord so are you! Soldiers have a clear discipline and as Christians, disciples have a discipline to not get entangled in civilian pursuits, that is in the world, but for the world to fight the good fight of faith, so that souls are saved.

Paul focuses Timothy and us on the Lord. When a superior officer comes into the room, all the soldiers come to attention as we do when we stand to hear the Gospel in the Divine Service. And all soldiers suffer, as did Paul, Timothy, Peter and all the army of Christ, the two Martins and as our armed forces do in combat, and even in peace. We fight for freedom’s sake Christ has set us free and in Christ to not submit again to a yoke of slavery, see Galatians 5:1.

This day is united in thanksgiving for our freedoms, political and spiritual, and for all those who have fought the good fight. I think when it gets down to the hardest peace to win is spiritual. Christ has done so. The armies of darkness are on the move again in our nation and amongst the nations.We are freed from the tyranny of political and spiritual despots and so freed to serve our neighbor, our nation and church, as free citizens of both that tyranny is defeated, finally by the Lord’s weapons: the weapons of the Spirit, cf. Ephesians 6: 10-20.

We pray:

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead; We give thee thanks for all those thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence, that the good work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.

Lord God of hosts, Your servant Martin the soldier embodied the spirit of sacrifice. He became a bishop in Your Church to defend the catholic faith. Give us grace to follow in his steps so that when our Lord returns we may be clothed with the baptismal garment of righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns With You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

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About Pastor Mark Schroeder

I was ordained on the Eve of the Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist on 24 April, 1983. I am now serving my fifth congregation, Concordia Lutheran Mission, Buena Vista, VA. I am also the Chaplain at Rockbridge Area Hospice. I can be reached @ 540-784-5622 (three in one number: the Mission, Rockbridge Area Hospice and personal!)

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